Air operated bucket



May 22, 1956 E.,o. MARTlNsoN AIR OPERATED BUCKET 3 Sheets-Sheet l TMI# Filed Sept. 25, 1952 May 22, 1956 E. o. MARTlNsoN 2,746,618

AIR OPERATED BUCKET Filed Sept. 25, 1952 HIV..

will e /5 /f 115W' MLA 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N V EN TOR.

May 22, 1956 E. o. MARTlNsoN AIR OPERATED BUCKET 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 25, -1952 INVENTOR.

/ 'a l l AIR OPERATED BUCKET Edwin 0. Martinson, Milwaukee, `Wis., assignor to: Koch# ing Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation Application September 25, 1952, Serial No.' 311,507

S Claims. (Cl. 21459) This invention relates to paving machines, and more particularly to certain improvements involved in the bucket mechanism normally associated therewith.

More particularly, this invention deals with the problem of controlling the discharge of materials carried by the bucket, and is primarily directed to a novel form of control unit whereby the discharge of materials is regulated.

In the past, it has been the usual practice to` provide a paver of `this generalclass with a boom upon which a bucket may travel to and fro from its point adjacent the paver so as to receive materials from they mixing drum thereof, to a point at the far end of the boom at which point the materials are discharged. In this type of paver as heretofore known, the discharge of materials was effected by a cable control in some instances which caused the doors or discharge gates at the bottom of the bucket to open to their fullest extent and deposit all of the materials Within the bucket in a relatively limited position. In addition, in order to change the position at which the bucket discharged the materials, it was necessary to'make certain mechanical adjustments, and further, there was no positive provision for effectingl a closing of the bucket until the same had returned to its position for receiving an additionalbatch of material.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a control mechanism or unit which isv suitably constructed so as to be incorporated in a paver of the class described and in the bucket unit thereof so as to overcome the hitherto objectionable features,`and make the machine much more flexible for depositing materials in different positions and to positively control the opening and closing of the gates or doors through which the material was discharged from the bucket.

It is a further object of this invention, tolprovide a control unit which is effectively operated by air or other fluid pressure, which does not require a complicated plumbing arrangement, the use of air being resorted to in order to avail ot' the characteristics thereof which do not require that the fluid pressure be operated in a continuous or closed system.

It is a further object of this invention to provide suitable mechanism, part of the same incorporated in the boom or carried thereby and an additional part of the unit carried by the bucket unit itself so as to effectively direct the source of fluid pressure Ito operating devices carried on the bucket whereby the doors or gates thereof may be opened or closed, at will and in any position of the bucket unit throughout the length of the boom.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a control unit which is of simple construction and which may be controlled by cable means operable from `the operators station on the paver and which, by the provision of simple reeling means mounted on the boom, and flexible connections with said means to the control unit, to direct the source of uid pressure to its operating position so as to` open and close the doors or gates `carried on the bucket.

It is a further particular object of this invention, to

United States Patent O 2,746,613 Paltented May 22, 1956 ICC' so arrange the control unit that by a simple shortening of the cable, so to speak, whereby the same is operated, the control unit is effectively manipulated so as to direct the fluid pressure to its operating position, to open the doors or gates carried on the bucket, or to partially close the same, and avail of the ieXibility of air so as to regulate the rate at which the said doors open and close in carrying out the discharging operation from the bucket.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel form of door arrangement, whereby the same comprises a pair of doors operable by one or a pair of fluid pressure operated cylinders, provision being made for simultaneously moving the respective door members into and out of their positions of discharge as required.

Another object of the invention involves the mounting of the -bucket upon the carriage usually associated therewithin such a manner that elevation of the boom may be carried out, and the bucket `operated as usual for discharging the contents thereof, suitable provision being made to prevent undue motion of the bucket during its travel to and from its place of deposit of the materials carried thereby. v

Other and further objects of this invention will be understood from the description appended hereto, and clearly shown in the drawings, wherein:

Figure '1 is' a view in side elevation, generally illustrat ing the major parts of a paver involved in this invention, and primarily showing the mounting of the bucket and the location of the respective operating elements for the discharge doors thereof, with the view being fragmentary in some respects.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the arrangement for effecting movement of the carriage byv which the bucket is normally suspended, and the location of the control unit with respect thereto. p

Figure 3 is a view taken `about on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, also being somewhat fragmentary and further illustrating the arrangement and location of certain of the important eiements.

Figure 4 is a somewhat enlarged view, generally frag mentary in nature, illustrating in section the valve of the control unit and its arrangement for operation of the doors or gates of the bucket.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation view showing the mechanism of Figure 4 in side elevation.

Referring now to Figure l, the essential elements of this invention Vare shown, and involve a paver generally denoted A somewhat fragmentarily shown, and a boom B mounted thereon in the usual manner. The boom B is of course adapted to be swung transversely as is well known, as well as in a vertical direction from the position shown in the figure. The boom B is further supported by suitable raising and lowering cable mechanism denoted generally C, and is further shown as having mounted thereon the bucket unit generally denoted D. The bucket unit D `includes a carriage generally designated 1 `and the bucket itself designated 2. Suitably mounted on the boom in any preferred manner, is a reel denoted E, the same being of any preferred well known construction such as that of the l. L. Gleason & Co., Inc., as shown on page 25 of their catalog. The reel is adapted -to support for purposes to be hereinafter explained the hose designated 3 for transmission of the fluid pressure required for operation of the invention herein.

As shown in Figure l, the reel E is supplied by a supply line 4 which extends to the paver itself, and in turn is pressurized from any suitable compressor which is provided on the paver.

The bucket 2 is pivotally supported in any one of the three positions generally designated 5, being pivotally connected at those points by suitable pivots, the upper pivot 5 being in this position the one from which the bucket is suspended on the carriage designated 6. The carriage 6, somewhat more clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, is of substantially conventional construction and involves a generally U-shaped frame 7, having in its arms the bearing members 8 upon which are suitably supported the rollers 9, which in turn engage at opposite sides of the channel members 10 of the boom B. In order to etfect travel movement of the carriage 6 along the boom B, a suitable cable arrangement is provided, being generally conventional and denoted 11, the same having reeved thereupon the cables 12 and 13 whereby rotation of the cable member 11 in either of opposite direction will cause the cables 12 and 13 to move therearound, tbc cable 12 being connected for example, as shown in Figure 2, at 14, and the cable 13 being connected as shown in Figure 2 at 15, to the carriage 6 in the conventional manner as is well known. cable member 11 as previously mentioned will cause the carriage 6 to move inwardly and outwardly on the boom B as is required.

Suitably suspended from the carriage on the frame 7 thereof, is the control unit generally designated 16, the same being more clearly shown in Figure 4, as depending downwardly beneath the portion 7 of the carriage, and supported thereon by a bracket 17. The control unit 16 comprises a valve 18 connected by a suitable bolt and nut 19 to the bracket 17, the valve 18 including a body 20. The body 20 is provided with a suitable reciprocable member 21, the same being of preferably round or cylindrical configuration and having the reduced portions 22 and 23 therein.

Suitable seals of any well known construction may be provided as shown at 24, four of these seals being availed of for purposes which will be understood as the description herewith proceeds. The reciprocable member 21 is provided at its lower end with a seat 25, between which and the body of the valve is provided a spring 26. Suitably mounted beneath the seat 25 and connected thereto by a bracket 27 is a pulley 23 mounted on a suitable support for rotation at 29. It will therefore be understood that the reciprocable member 21 may be moved upwardly and downwardly as viewed in Figure 4, so as to control the air or iluid pressure delivered through the flexible line 3, to an inlet port 30, and into the interior of the valve body 18. In the disclosure herein, the valve body is provided with two ports denoted 31 and 32, through which the air or fluid pressure coming from the inlet 30 may be directed. It is apparent from the construction herein illustrated that either the port 31 or port 32 may be pressurized or they may be pressurized at the same time, as is required for operating the bucket as will be now set forth.

The bucket 2 is of generally conventional construction, and is adapted to receive contents from a chute 33 furnished in the paver and of conventional form, so as to maintain the same within the bucket 2 until the point of discharge is reached. At the bottom of the bucket there is provided a gate arrangement, involving the use of gates designated 34 and 35, pivotally supported at 36 and 37 respectively, so as to move apart at their contacting inner edges which extend transversely across the bucket, and thus permit the contents of the bucket to pass through the discharge opening generally designated 3S. In order to effect the operation of the respective gates 34 and 35, it being understood that the opposite side of the bucket is similarly equipped to that now being set forth and referring to Figure l, a pair of links and 41 are provided, pivotally connected at 42 and 43. At the inner ends of the links 42 and 43, the same are in turn pivotally connected at 44 to the operating piston rod 45 of a fluid pressure piston and cylinder unit 46. The piston and cylinder unit 46 is suitably pivotally attached at its upper end at 47 to the body of the bucket 2. It will therefore be It will be apparent that rotation of the apparent that from the position shown in Figure 1, downward movement of the piston rod 45 will cause corresponding downward movement of the inner ends of the links 40 and 41, and thus a pivotal movement of the gates 34 and 35 around the pivots 36 and 37 and thus open the discharge opening 38.

In order to assure that the respective mounting elements for the gates 34 and 35 will operate at opposite sides of the bucket simultaneously, a further link 48 is provided, pivotally connected at 44 to the piston rod 45 and the links 49 and 41, and at its other end rigidly connected to a transverse rod or bar 49, the other end of the bar 49 in turn being connected to a similar link 48, the other linkage 40 and 41 being duplicated and similarly connected. It will also be understood that a similar piston and cylinder unit 46 is mounted at the opposite side of the bucket and thus simultaneous operation so as to prevent distortion of the gate members may be effected upon movement of the piston rod 45 as previously explained.

In order to effect movement downwardly and upwardly of the piston rod 45, same is provided with an air line 50 leading to its upper portion above the piston within the piston and cylinder unit 46, and a line 51 leading to the lower portion of the piston and cylinder unit and below the piston carried therewithin. Thus, when air is admitted to the line S0 under the control of the control unit as will be subsequently explained, the downward movement of the piston rod 45 takes place, and opening of the doors or gates 34 and 35 is effected.

In order to effect operation of the piston and cylinder unit 46, the control unit previously described is suitably operated. In order to effect operation of the control unit, and of the discharge of the contents of the bucket 2, a suitable cable arrangement is provided. This involves the pulley 28 previously referred to, and in addition a further pair of pulleys 52 and 53, rotatably mounted above the unit on the member 54, and having reeved thereabout a cable denoted 55. As seen in Figure 5, the cable 55 passes over the pulley 52 thence downwardly around the pulley 28, and upwardly over the other pulley 53, and out toward the end of the boom where the same is fastened in any suitable manner. At the inner end of the cable 55, same is connected to a flexible cable control arrangement which in turn is provided at its lower end with a foot pedal 57, which is located for suitable access by the operator of the machine. Thus, in effect, when the operator presses on the foot pedal 57, he shortens the distance between the mounting means 29 and 54 of the respective pulleys, and since the pulley 28 is connected to the reciprocable member 21, will cause the same to move. It will be apparent that this relative contraction of the positions of the respective pulleys, may be eifected regardless of the position of the bucket unit D on the boom, and that further when the operator presses downwardly on the pedal 57 for example, uid pressure is admitted through the inlet 30 and directed through the port 32 to the line 50, which extends to the top of the piston and cylinder unit 46. It will be understood that in the disclosure of Figure 4, the reciprocable member 21 has been moved as above described, so as to permit the fluid pressure to ilow to the top of the piston and cylinder unit 46, since the reduced portions 22 and 23 of the member 21 are in position so as to admit the air pressure to the line 50 and permit the return of the air expelled from the bottom of the piston and cylinder unit through the line 51 so as to escape through the reduced portion 23 to the atmosphere. This will effectively cause a movement of the bucket gates into open position and by reason of the ability to control the movement of the reciprocable member, the same may be moved slowly or rapidly as the case may be-the initial movement when a bucket is loaded being relatively slow because of the sticky consistency of the mix carried. However, there will be no subsequent sudden movement of the gates when they have been partially opened, and the initial frictional resistance of the mass of material so supported thereby having been overcome, since theoperator may control the movement of'the member 21 with accuracy. v i

As the operator has moved the member 21 into the position shown in Figure 4, for example, the spring 26 will have been contracted. Thus, subsequent release of the pressure on the pedal 57 will permit the spring 26 to expand again, and return the member 21 toits normal position wherein both ports 31 and 32 are closed, and no pressure is being admitted thereto or permitted to return therethrough.

The arrows used in Figure 4 denote the llow of air pressure when the foot pedal 57 has been depressed, so as to illustrate the flow of said pressure to the respective piston and cylinder units 46 and from the same so as to be vented to the atmosphere.

The exible lineA 3, which' is connected with the inlet 30 of the control unit 16, will permit the directionY of liuid pressure through this unit at any position of the bucket unit D on the boom, whether close to its` point of receiving material from the chute 33 or out at the end thereof. It will also be understood that if the boom is elevated to other than the horizontal, for example, as shown in Figure 1, the operation of this bucket discharge mechanism may still take place readily, and is not limited by such movement, nor does the same require mechanical adjustment to carry out discharge operation.

It will also be understood that the availing of the air pressure, which is at present available in the paver itself, reduces the requirement to have complicated plumbing, such as return lines which might be requiredby hydraulic instrumentalties, in View of the fact that air itself does not need to be returned to its source, but may be eX- hausted under the control of the control unit 16.

In order to .prevent the bucket from swinging undesirably during its travel to and from its points of discharge and filling, a snubbing cylinder generally designated 60 is provided which is attached at its upper end as at 61 pivotally to the carriage 6, and at its lower end as at 62 to the frame of the bucket 2. Thus, any abrupt movement of the bucket under the control of the member 11 will not be immediately imparted to the bucket 2, but by reason of the snubbing unit 60, will be vdampened or otherwise reduced to a minimum. The construction of this snubbing unit 60 may be of any preferred form, but thev same in this particular instance is preferably constructed so as to avail of the hydraulic principles well-known for use therein. v

It should be understoodthat the member 21 as shown in Figure 4, is so constructed as to change the direction of flow of air through the ports 31 and 32 so las to change Y the direction of movement of the gates 34 and 35 under the control of the piston and cylinder unit 46, in view of the fact that the lower reduced portion 23 of the movable member 21may be brought into position so as to direct iiuid pressure in a reverse direction to that shown by the arrows in Figure 4, to thereby electively cause a closing movement of the respective doors or kgates 34 and 35 byupward movement of the piston rod 45. Thus, in elect, the lines 50 and 51 may alternately or successively become discharge and pressure lines as the conditions require for opening and shutting the gates, or opening them partially and maintaining them in that position, or completely opening the gates under conditions encountered during operation of the machine.

An additional spring 61 is provided at the lower end of member 21 and beneath the pulley 28 so as to assist in return of the member to its normal or neutral position. This spring is attached to a bracket 62 fixed to the carriage 6.

Since the arrangement herein set forth is especially adapted for use in pavers having very long booms, the advantage of the hose reel arrangement and the use of a single line for supply of fluid pressure, greatly simplifies the construction and reduces maintenance.

In view of the use of along boom which is intended to be raised and lowered on ther pivot at the foot thereof, the three holes S are provided. The bucket is mounted in the top hole when the boom is raised at an angle'of 30 degrees for example, in order to provide clearance of the bucket, and drum discharge chute 33. The lower holes are used to provide for clearance over forms, when the boom is at lesser angles and horizontal.

I claim:

1. The combination with a paver having an operators station thereon and' including a boom and a bucket unit supported thereby for movement therealong, said bucket unithaving a discharge opening and closure means therefor, of a cable operated iiuid pressure control unit carried by the bucket unit, a power device connected to said closure means for moving the same into a plurality of positions under the control of said control unit, a` single liuid pressure supply line for said unit, anda cable, said cable engaging instrumentalties onsaid unit and operable from the operators station for-manipulating said unit, said control unit including a valve having a, movable member therein adapted to transfer uid pressure from the supply line to a plurality of ports, and the cable being reeved about a pulley connected to said member for moving the same. Y

2. The combination with a paver having an operators station thereon and including a boom and a bucket unit supported thereby for movement therealong, said bucket unit having a discharge opening and closure means therefor, of a cable operated iiuid pressure control unit carriad by the bucket unit, a power device connected to said closure means for moving the same into a plurality of positions, under the control of said control unit, a single fluid pressure supply line for said unit, and a cable, said cable engaging instrumentalties on said unit and operable from the operators station for manipulating said unit, said control unit including a valve, said valve having a body supported by the bucket unit, a movable member in the body adapted to direct uid pressure from the single supply line to a plurality of ports, a pulley carried by the movable member, pulley means mounted on said bucket unit and a cable reeved about both said pulley and pulley means to. effect movement of said movable member.

3. The combination with a paver having an operators station thereon and including a boom and a bucket unit supported thereby for movement therealong, said bucket unit having a discharge opening and closure means therefor, of a cable operated uid pressure control unit carried by the bucket unit, a power device connected to said closure means for moving the same into a plurality of positions under the control of said control unit, a single luid pressure supply line for said unit, and a cable, said cable engaging instrumentalties on said unit and operable from the operators station for manipulating said unit, said control unit including a valve supported on the bucket unit, said valve including a recprocable member adapted to direct liuid pressure from the supply line alternately and individually to a plurality of ports, and the cable reeved about pulley means, one of which is connected to said` member to etect movement thereof.

4. The combination with a paver having an operators station thereon and including a boom and a bucket unit supported thereby for movement therealong, said bucket unit having a discharge opening and closure means therefor, of a cable operated uid pressure control unit carried by the bucket unit, a power device connected to said closure means for moving the same into a plurality of positions under the control of said control unit, a single iluid pressure supply line for said unit, and a cable, said cable engaging instrumentalties on said unit and operable from the operators station for manipulating said unit, said control unit including a valve supported on the bucket unit, said valve including a recprocable member adapted to direct uid pressure from the supply line alternately and individually to a plurality of ports, and the cable reeved about pulley means, one of which is connected to said member to effect movement thereof, said valve inw cluding a stationary body, the pulley means comprising pulleys supported thereabove, and a pulley is connected to the reciprocable member, the cable being xed at one end7 the other end being manipulable from the operators station, said cable being reeved about the pulleys aforesaid, pull on the cable effecting movement of the pulleys toward one another and corresponding movement of the reciprocable member mentioned.

5. The combination with a paver having an operators station thereon including a boom supported thereby, and a bucket unit comprising a carriage connected to a bucket therebeneath for movement along the boom, said bucket having a discharge opening and closure means therefor, of a control unit supported on the carriage, closure operating instrumentalities operable thereby for manipulating said closure means, a fluid pressure supply line leading to said unit, and cable means leading to the operators station and to said boom and control unit for regulating the control unit to elect positive opening and closing movement of the closure means aforesaid, the said control unit depends from the carriage and includes a valve having the body portion xed thereto, a reciprocable valve member s mounted in the body, pulley means supported by the carriage above the valve and other pulley means connected to the member below the same, the cable being reeved about both pulley means, one end of the cable means being xed to the boom, pull on the other end of the cable effecting movement of the valve member in thc body to direct uid pressure to the closure means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 418,231 Rucker et al. Dec. 31, 1889 1,324,947 Wilson Dec. 16, 1919 1,503,918 Ruby Aug. 5, 1924 2,188,672 Atkinson Jan. 30, 1940 2,291,539 Faber et al July 28, 1942 2,621,810 Steelman Dec. 16, 1952 

